Sunday, June 17, 2012
My Liver Transplant
Wednesday, June 17, 1992
6:50 p.m.
The phone rings.
"Hello."
"Mr. Dew?"
"Yes."
"This is Amy at Ochsner Transplant Center.
We have a liver for you."
*****************
I was shocked, because I had been on the transplant list for only six days, and had
been told the average wait for a liver was about three months. Of course, some wait
much longer than three months, and sadly some die before they can receive a new
liver (or any other organ).
I had undergone a procedure the week before, which was helping to keep fluid
from building up in my body. It had also seemed to help keep my ulcerative colitis,
which I had battled for 17 years, under control.
So, I was actually feeling better than I had in a long time. When I was told they
had a liver for me, I was tempted to say, "No thanks. I'm feeling much better now.
I'll wait for the next one."
But I knew I couldn't do that. There may not be another liver. So all I could think
of to say to her was "Really?" She assured me that they had procured a liver for me, and
asked me how far I was from Ochsner's.
"About 285 miles," I told her.
She told me to be careful, but I needed to get there as soon as I could.
*****************
The first time I'd had any liver problems was when I was 13 and got very sick.
The various doctors I saw weren't sure what was wrong, but after a lot of testing,
it was decided I needed to undergo exploratory surgery.
After the surgery, the surgeon came out and told my parents that I had liver
cancer, and that I had maybe six months to live. My family was terribly shaken
by the news, but didn't tell me the prognosis since I was so young.
Dr. Baker told them they wouldn't know for sure it was cancer until
the pathology reports came back. The initial report was negative, giving my parents
hope, and eventually all the reports came back negative. This was an answer to the
prayers of many in my church and elsewhere in Bastrop.
We were without a pastor at the time, and our music minister, Dick Day, along
with many others, was very helpful to my family and me during this stressful time.
So, I didn't have cancer, but there was still something terribly wrong with my
liver. Dr. Baker took the biopsies to a prominent pathologist in Shreveport, who
after examining them and the surgical report, said he had never seen anyone with
this type of liver problem before.
After consulting with other doctors, he diagnosed me with a very rare liver
disease -- so rare that it didn't even have a name yet. Later, it became known as
"Ascending Biliary Sclerosis," and I was only the 13th person in the country
known to have it.
Dr. Baker talked to other experts to see what he should do to treat me, and
finally decided to give me large doses of prednisone. The prednisone didn't
cure me, but it seemed to put the disease into some sort of remission, and it
gave me a big appetite. I gained about 40 pounds over the summer, and was
able to go back to school in the fall.
Four years later, I had my first bout of ulcerative colitis, which often accom-
panies "Ascending Biliary Sclerosis." Then, when I was 28, the liver problem
started to return, and I was told I would eventually need a liver transplant.
I put it off for six years, but I was getting sicker, and after throwing up enough
blood to half way fill up a hospital pan, we knew we couldn't wait much longer.
The fluid was starting to build up again, especially in my stomach. It was so big
I looked like I had swallowed a basketball.
********************
OCHSNER TRANSPLANT CENTER
I ended up going to Ochsner's in New Orleans, where I underwent a LOT of
testing to see if I was a good candidate for a transplant.
After going through the process for a couple months and several trips back and
forth to Ochsner's, I was told that my name was going to be put on the waiting list
for a transplant. I also needed to have my colon removed because of the years of
ulcerative colitis, but the doctors couldn't decide whether to do both surgeries at
the same time, or do the transplant and then the colon surgery a few months later.
Eventually, they decided to do both at the same time, something they had never
done before.
I had an appointment with the main surgeon who would be in charge of my
transplant when it happened. My mother, brother Rodney, and I were waiting in a
room for the doctor, Dan Hays.
When he came in I was shocked because he looked so young (I later found out
he was about 35, but he looked 25). I was sitting on his stool on wheels, so he
just hopped up on the examining table and started talking to us.
Still wondering if he was old enough to be doing this kind of surgery, I bluntly
asked, "So, YOU'RE doing my surgery?" He kind of smiled and said, "Yes." He
told us he had quite a bit of experience, and the more I talked to him the more I
liked him.
I was told to go home and stay close to the phone (had no cell phone at that time),
because they could be calling at any time. I certaintly didn't expect it to be six
days later.
******************
THE SURGERY
After the phone call telling me they had a liver for me, and I needed to get to New
Orleans as quickly as possible, we were on the road within about 30 minutes.
My mother and Rodney were going with me and we had our bags packed in case
we got the call, so it didn't take long to get ready.
After I got the call, we made it to Ochsner's at about 12:30 a.m., and the first
person we ran into was our pastor, L.H. McCollough ("Bro. Mac"). He had gotten
the news at prayer meeting that we were leaving for the transplant, and after
church he said he hopped in his car and headed for New Orleans to be with us.
We certainly didn't expect him to go that far, but we were very glad to see him.
I spent the rest of the night having tests run and prepping for the surgery.
About 8:00 a.m. Dr. Hays came in to see if I was ready. They came and got me
around 9:00, and while we were waiting in the holding room, Bro. Mac led us
in prayer.
I can't lie -- I was really scared as I realized what was about to happen. I
became very emotional and shed a few tears, because I didn't know if I was
going to survive this whole ordeal.
In a few minutes they came to take me to surgery, and we said our goodbyes.
The surgical room was freezing cold and they started working on me immediately.
A male nurse engaged in small talk with me, but I was so nervous I wasn't in
much of a mood to say anything.
On my back, they laid both arms straight out away from my body. I already
had an IV in my left arm to receive platelets, and would have another put in my
right arm for fluids.
Within five minutes someone said, "OK Don, we're goin to put you to sleep
now. It was about 9:30 a.m.
Nurses gave my family and Bro. Mac regular updates about the surgery.
Dr. Hays and his team went first and removed my diseased liver and then put
in the new one. This took several hours.
Then the second phase of surgery started, when Dr. Hicks removed my colon.
Dr. Hays came back and closed up.
Dr. Hays came out and told my family that he was going to "sleep well tonight."
The surgery had gone very well and the new liver was "almost a perfect match."
He said, "it started working as soon as I got it sewn it. I wish all my transplants
went this well." Thank You, Lord!!
********************
POST SURGERY
At about 9:30 p.m. I left surgery to be taken to a special ICU for transplant patients.
I had been in surgery for almost 12 hours.
I finally woke up at about 9:30 or 10:00 the next morning. I had been asleep for
24 hours, and I still slept most of the first day.
There was an IV in my right arm and one in my neck (thankfully they put that one
in AFTER they put me to sleep), and I had four drainage tubes in my stomach.
There was a naso-gastric tube in my nose and a tube down my throat to help me
breathe. I knew I would have to be on a ventilator and unable to talk, so I had told
my mother that after the surgery I was going to want to put on my glasses (I was
very near sighted).
I said I would put my hands up to my eyes signifying when I wanted my glasses.
Unfortunately, I didn't know my hands would be strapped down to my side, to keep
me from pulling out any of the tubes or IVs, so I wasn't able to put my hands up to
my eyes. I started blinking my eyes over and over, and finally my mother realized
I wanted my glasses so I could see better.
There was a big bandage on my left wrist and hand, and they were both very sore.
But no one seemed to know why they were bandaged. Dr. Hays came to see me and
my mother asked him about the bandages, and he said, "what bandages?" He didn't
know anything about them either. Finally, we found out that some of the platelets had
run out of the vein and into the tissue of my wrist and hand, causing a pretty bad burn.
Those burns bothered me more than anything, because medicine had to be applied
twice a day, and the arm re-bandaged each time. Getting the IV removed from my
neck helped a lot though. It was very uncomfortable having that long needle in my neck.
The ventilator was removed the next day and I was able to talk, but I couldn't eat
anything for several more days. The huge doses of anti-rejection drugs, plus predni-
sone had me wired and I couldn't sleep. So I asked Dr.Hays if I could have something
to help me sleep, and he prescribed ativan, but it had a terrible effect on me.
I don't know if I had hallucinations or what, but I was convinced there was some-
one in my room behind me and I was determined he had to go. Of course, there was
no one there, but the nurse couldn't convince me otherwise. I almost ran him crazy
trying to get that guy out of my room. Another sleepless night.
When the ativan wore off and I realized how I had acted, I was embarrassed and
later apologized to the nurse. He said that he knew it was the medicine causing me
to act that way.
After four days in ICU, I was moved to a regular room, and soon after was able to
eat solid food.
Each day I had one tube removed from my stomach. The doctor told me to close my
eyes and take a deep breath when he took out the first tube. It hurt and I
didn't look forward to having the other three tubes removed.
A few days later, I had 70 staples removed leaving quite a big scar.
********************
LEAVING THE HOSPITAL
Twelve days after my transplant I was released from the hospital, but my mother
and I had to stay in an apartment close to Ochsner.
Three days later my temperature had spiked and I found myself back in the hos-
pital. Soon though, I was able to go back to the apartment.
I had to go to the clinic every day, Monday through Friday, and have lab work
twice a week. One day both of my shins started to hurt. The pain got so bad I had to
go the clinic to get a shot for pain. The nurse gave me dilaudid and within five seconds
the pain was going away. We never were sure what caused the pain, but theorized
that it could have been because I may have had to taper off the prednisone too fast.
It felt so good to stop hurting. I can understand how someone could get addicted to
narcotics. A couple of weeks later my temperature spiked again and I had to go back
into the hospital. My liver enzymes were high and the doctors thought my body was
rejecting the liver.
That meant even stronger anti-rejection drugs. I felt awful. My temperature was
103.4 degrees. Dr. Regenstein was the doctor I saw at the clinic and he wanted to get a liver
biopsy to try find out what was wrong. Ochsner is a teaching hospital, so they have a
number of young "doctors" who are still in training.
One of them I saw quite frequently had an unusually long last name that I can't
remember now, but it sounded something like Kadiddlehopper (like the Red Skelton
character Clem Kadiddlehopper). So that's what I called him (not to his face). He
wasn't my favorite doctor because he really didn't seem to know what he was doing
half the time.
Naturally, he was the one chosen to do my biopsy procecure. I thought, "Oh no!"
In a liver biopsy, the doctor sticks a long needle into the liver and gets a specimen
to be tested. It's not a pleasant experience.
Dr. Kadiddlehopper put the needle in and pulled it out. Then he had to go to the lab
for testing. Unfortunately, he came back and told me that he didn't get a big enough
specimen. He had to try again. Great!
The second time -- same result. "Sorry. I'll have to try again." I made up my mind.
"This is your last try, Kadiddlehopper," I said to myself.
The third time -- no luck again. Unbelievable! He left to go get Dr. Regenstein who
came in and did the biopsy himself. Thank the Lord, he was successful on his first try.
The results showed no rejection, and I started feeling better. In a few days I went back
to the apartment .
Two weeks later I was told I could go home if my blood tests were OK. Thankfully,
they were good and my mother and I started getting ready to go home. We had been in New
Orleans for exactly nine weeks.
We had come to be friends with a family from Alabama. Mary Jane had had a liver
transplant a few days before mine. She was doing well, but had complications and went
into a coma shortly before we came home. It didn't look like she would make it.
Miraculously, she awoke from her coma and made a full recovery. We hear from her
every year at Christmas.
*******************
THANKFUL
Twenty years have come and gone. There have been good times and bad times.
The side effects of the long time liver disease and use of cortisone have included
cataracts (removed in 2002), and severe osteoporosis. I had a compression fracture
of a vertebrae shortly after I got home from New Orleans, which was very painful
and took several months to recover from.
Because I have no colon, I've developed mal-digestion and mal-absorption of fat,
which means my body doesn't properly absorb fats in food, so I'm very skinny and
can't put on weight no matter how hard I try. I'm not complaining though. I'm
very thankful.
I'm thankful:
*For the family who was willing to donate the liver.
*For the staff at Ochsner who still treat me twenty years later.
*For friends at church and many others who've helped us and prayed for us
over the years.
*For my family -- Rodney, Diana, Charles, Caitlin, and my mother for all
they've done for me. Especially my mother. She has been "doctoring" me
all my life and I couldn't ask for a better mother. She and my daddy, who
passed away only six months before my transplant, were such good role
models for Rodney and me.
They taught us right from wrong and read the Bible to us when we were kids,
and helped lead us to salvation in the Lord.
*To God, who through His providence, gave me many years that I wouldn't
have had without the transplant. Though I didn't deserve it, through His
grace and mercy, He gave me eternal life in Jesus Christ.
********************
"And we know that in all things God works for the
good of those who love Him, who have been called
according to His purpose." Romans 8:28
********************
For more information on transplants, go to the UNOS (United Network for
Organ Sharing) website.
Organ Transplants save lives!
Thursday, June 14, 2012
The Trinity in Salvation
(Highlights from an article on "eternal security of the believer,"
by James R. White, Effectual Grace Blog - June 2012).
**************
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all have parts to play in the sal-
vation of a person.
The Salvation of the believer is based on the Tri-une nature of God.
**************
THE FATHER AND THE SON
"(Jesus said), 'All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever
comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to
do my own will but the will of Him who sent Me, that I should lose nothing
of all that he has given Me, but raise it up on the last day."
"For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and
believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."
" ... No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him. And
I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will
all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father
comes to Me -- not that anyone has seen the Father except He who is from God;
He has see the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal
life." John 6:37-40; 44-47
All the Father gives to Jesus will come to Him - everyone! (v 37)
The Father gives people to the Son as a gift of love.
As a result of grace working in his life, each person the Father gives to Jesus,
will come to Him.
Those given to Jesus by the Father are secure -- He will never cast them out.
Impossible!
Jesus will never cast them out because He came to do the will of the Father
(v 38). The will of the Father is that Jesus lose none given to Him, but raise them
up on the last day (v 39).
The believer's salvation is secure because:
1) The will of the Father is that none are lost.
and
2) Those not lost are those given to the Son by the Father.
There is security in the Father and the Son!
The believer can be secure because salvation is the complete work of God.
Man is the object of salvation through grace given by the Sovereign God, who
grants grace to those whom He desires.
"What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part?
By no means! For He says to Moses, ' I will have mercy
on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on
whom I have compassion."
"So then it (salvation) depends not on human will or exertion,
but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh,
'For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show
my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in
all the earth."
"So then He has mercy on whomever He wills, and He hardens
whomever He wills." Romans 9:15-18
The believer comes to Jesus for salvation because of God's grace and love,
and not because of anything in himself!
However, that's not all the good news.
****************
SEALED BY THE SPIRIT
The believer is sealed by the Holy Spirit, who is the down payment guaran-
teeing his inheritance (salvation and eternal life in heaven).
"In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised
Holy Spirit, who is the gurarantee of our inheritance until we acquire
possession of it, to the praise of His glory." Ephesians 1:13-14
The Holy Spirit comes and dwells in the believer, securing and preserving his
eternal salvation.
To be sealed by the Holy Spirit means He marks the believer as His own pos-
session.
So, the believer receives the promised Holy Spirit and an inheritance.
The Holy Spirit guarantees that the Father will complete the work He began in the
salvation of the believer.
The ultimate purpose of redemption is God's glory.
The Holy Spirit empowers and sanctifies the believer.
"May the God of hope fill you joy and peace in believing, so
that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."
Romans 15:13
" ... a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly
service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gen-
tiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit."
Romans 15:16
***************
All three members of the Trinity have a vital role to play in the salvation
of His people.
The Father sovereignly chooses them for salvation. He gives them to the
Son who obediently saves them, and raises them to eternal life.
The Holy Spirit empowers them and seals them as God's own possession.
****************
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit bring about the sal-
vation of the believer, and because salvation is of God, the believer can be
certain of His eternal security.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Penal Substitutionary Atonement
Penal Substitutionary Atonement is the doctrine that Christ died as a substitute
for sinners, taking on their sins and bearing them on the cross. It was a full payment
for sins, satisfying the wrath and righteousness of God, setting the believer free from
the penalty due them, because of their disobedience (Theopedia).
***********
Penal Substitution may sound like a dry subject, but it is the reason Jesus came in
human form and gave Himself on the cross.
It is found in the Old Testament and the New Testament.
It is found in the passover lamb in Exodus, when God told Moses and Aaron to tell
the congregation of Israel that each household was to take a one year old male lamb,
without blemish, and kill it at twilight.
Then they were to take the blood of the lamb and put it on their doorposts as a sign for
God to pass over those homes when He struck the land of Egypt, killing the firstborn
and executing judgment on the gods of Egypt.
************
Isaiah 53 tells us of the Messiah who was to come as a "Suffering Servant," to be a
substitute for the people of God, to die in their place, and rise and intercede for them in
the presence of God the Father.
The Servant has seven unique qualifications:
1. He suffers rejection, oppression, affliction, and horrible pain.
2. He was sinless.
3. He voluntarily gave His life.
4. He suffered vicariously, according to the will of God.
5. He dies in behalf of others.
6. He suffers in behalf of others.
7. He was a guilt offering.
*****************
Through His death and resurrection, Jesus:
*Brings peace and heals (spiritually).
"But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed
for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was
upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed (forgiven)."
Isaiah 53:5
*Makes many to be accounted righteous while bearing their sins.
"... by His knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and He will bear their iniquities." Isaiah 53:11b
*Redeems His people from the law's curse.
"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a
curse for us, for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hung
on a tree.'" Galatians 3:13
*Cancels believers' record of debt.
Because Christ was nailed to the cross, our legal debt has
been completely forgiven. Christ took upon Himself the penalty that we
were under because of our disobedience, and His death fully
satisfied God's necessary demand for due punishment of that disobedience.
"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of
your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave
us all our sins, having canceled the written code,
with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed
to us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross." Colossians 2:13-14
*Bears believers' sins in His body.
"He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we
might die to sins and live for righteousness ..."
1 Peter 2:24a
*Brings people to God.
"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the
unrighteous, to bring you to God."
1 Peter 3:18a
*Is the propitiation for believers' sins.
"This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us
('children of God,' 1 John 3:1) and sent His son as an
atoning sacrifice for our sins." 1 John 4:10
*****************
Substitution implies efficacy, which implies particularity.
If Jesus' saving work is substitutionary and efficacious, then there are
only two possibilities:
Either His saving work is universal and everyone is saved
or,
His saving work is particular and all whom God has chosen
are saved.
Universalism is incompatible with the Bible's message, so Christ's
atonement is vicarious, effective, and particular --- He has died to save
His people from their sins.
***************
Sources: Theopedia
Salvation Accomplished By the Son: The Work of
Christ by Robert A. Peterson
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Mission:Impossible vs Mission Accomplished
Remember the old TV show Mission:Impossible?
It is described as a show in which "an elite covert operations unit carries
out highly sensitive missions subject to official denial in the event of failure,
death, or capture."
The leader of the team was given their instructions by a nameless, faceless
voice on cassette tape, which "self-destructed" afterward.
Each week their task seemed impossible to carry out, and involved danger-
ous and sometimes deadly circumstances. Yet somehow, as far as I can remem-
ber, not a single one of the main characters ever died, and the team always suc-
cessfully carried out its mission.
***********************
On the other hand, Jesus had a mission which seemed impossible also -
reconciling sinners to a holy and righteous God, who gave Him His assignment
before the creation of the world, in accordance with His pleasure and will.
The Father helped His Son accomplish His task, but the Son was abandoned
not only by His disciples, but also by His Father (temporarily), in His greatest
time of need. Unlike the Mission:Impossible team, who always escaped death,
Jesus willingly gave His life to fulfill the Father's will and complete His assigned
calling to save His people.
Jesus had to die for His mission to be successful. He suffered and bled and died,
according to the Father's plan, to save sinners from the Father's wrath because of
their sins. He was the Substitute in the place of His people, taking their sins on
himself, and imputing His righteousness to them.
*******************************
Jesus doesn't just try to save sinners, He actually saves them. He doesn't merely
make salvation possible, He actually accomplishes salvation for His people.
The angel told Joseph, "She (Mary) will give birth to a son, and you
are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from
their sins." Matthew 1:21
He won't attempt to save them. He will save them!
********************************
Jesus, told us Himself why He came.
"For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost."
Luke 19:10
*********************************
God makes His people alive in Jesus, by grace, through faith.
"But because of His great love for us, God who is rich in
mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead
in transgressions --- it is by grace you have been saved."
" ... For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -
and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by
works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:4, 8-9
Grace, faith, and salvation are all gifts from God, through Jesus.
"All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through
Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that God
was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting
men's sins against them. And He has committed to us the
message of reconciliation." 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Jesus has secured redemption, forgiven the sins, and saved those who wait
for Him, through His death on the cross.
"He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves;
but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own
blood, having obtained eternal redemption."
... so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many
people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but
to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him."
Hebrews 9:12, 28
***************************
His death brings His people perfection and holiness.
" ... by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who
are being made holy." Hebrews 10:14
*****************************
Jesus saves completely and intercedes with the Father for His children.
"Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to
God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for
them." Hebrews 7:25
*****************************
"It is God who initiates salvation, who continues it and who will one day
bring it to consummation (through Jesus Christ)." NIV Commentary
" ... He who began a good work in you will carry it on to
completion untilt the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6b
Jesus came to save His people, and that is exactly what He did!
*********
"Would you call a mission 'effective' that did not accomplish what it claimed
to accomplish? I wouldn't. I would say its effectiveness was limited by the re-
sponse of the people for whom it was intended."
"In John 10:11, Jesus describes Himself as 'the good shepherd,' who lays down
His life for His sheep.' He later says to the Jews who were around Him, 'You do
do not believe because you are not part of my flock.'" (John 10:26)
(Notice that He did not say, "you are not part of my flock, because you don't
believe").
"In John 6:38-39, Jesus says that He came to do the father's will,
'and this is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that
He has given me, but raise it up on the last day.'"
"All that Jesus was entrusted to do - including His atoning work on the cross -
was to be effectually accomplished. The question must be asked then, 'Did Jesus
do the father's will?' 'Was He successful in His mission.' I believe that He was,
and that is exactly what He means when He said from the cross,
'It is finished.'"
Tom Ascol
*****************************
Not a single drop of Jesus' blood was shed in vain!
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Three Truths!
From James White's article, Was Anyone Saved at the Cross?
Christ intercedes for those who draw near to God, not for those who are not
approaching Him. He intercedes for His people.
"(Jesus said), No one can come to me unless the Father who sent
me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:44
*************************
Christ's intercession is based upon the fact that He has died as the substitute
for God's people, and since He has borne their sins in His body on the tree, He
can present His offering before the Father in their place, and intercede for them
on this basis.
The Son does not ask the Father to compromise His holiness, or simply pass
over sin. Christ took care of sin at Calvary.
"When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already
here, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made,
that is to say, not a part of this creation."
"He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He
entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal
redemption." Hebrews 9:11-12
After He had obtained eternal redemption for His people, Christ ascended into the
true heavenly sanctuary, in the presence of God the Father.
Christ did not merely attempt to redeem God's people, He actually obtained eternal
redemption for them on the cross. He entered the Most Holy place having already
accomplished redemption.
With redemption now accomplished, He is interceding today for His people be-
fore the Father. He died and arose so he could go to the Father to intercede for His
children. He is presenting His perfect sacrifice to the Father.
***********************
He is our Advocate.
"My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if
anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense --- Jesus Christ,
the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but
also for the sins of the whole world." 1 John 2:1-2
John's message is for believers and not for everybody in the world, because he
writes in verses 12 and 13 that the recepients know God and have had their sins for-
given. This applies only to God's children.
("The fact that John's letter mentions no one by name suggests it was a circular letter
sent to Christians in a number or places. The earliest confirmed use of 1 John was in the
province of Asia (modern Turkey), where Ephesus was located. Clement to Alexandria
indicates that John ministered in the various churches scattered throughout that province.
It may be assumed, therefore, that 1 John was sent to the churches of the province of Asia.")
NIV Commentary
When John writes, "... not only for our sins but also for the sins of the whole world,"
he does not mean that Christ atoned for everyone's sins in the entire world, but that He not
only atoned for the sins of the believers who are receiving his letter, but also for all believers
everywhere.
Remember that the word "world" (Greek - Cosmos) has many different meanings in John's
writings, and often does not mean every single person on earth. Here, "world" can't mean
everybody, because Christ's atonement is effective only for believers.
"World" has the same meaning as the message in Revelation 5:9b:
"... and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and
people and nation."
*************************
Three Truths
1. It is impossible that Christ not intercede for everyone for whom He died.
If He died as their Substitute, how could He not present His sacrifice in their stead
before the Father? Can we really believe Christ would die for someone that He did not
inend to save?
2. It is impossible that anyone, for whom the Son did not die, could receive Christ's
intercession.
If Christ did not die in behalf of a certain individual, how could Christ intercede for
that person, since He would have no grounds upon which to seek the Father's mercy?
3. It is impossible that anyone, for whom the Son intercedes, could be lost.
Can we imagine the Son pleading before the Father, presenting His perfect
atonement in behalf of an individual that He wishes to save, and the Father rejecting
the Son's intercession?
The Father always hears the Son ("Jesus said, Father ... 'I knew that you always hear
me ..." John 11:42).
Would He not hear the Son's pleas in behalf of all that the Son desires to save?
********************************
Furthermore, if we believe that Christ can intercede for someone that the Father will
not save, then we must believe that either:
1. There is dissension in the Godhead, the Father desiring one thing, the Son
another, or
2. The Father is incapable of doing what the Son desires Him to do.
Both positions are utterly impossible!
***********************************
Jesus does not pray for those who are not His.
"I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have
given me, for they are yours." John 17:9
Jesus prayed not only for those living at that time, but also prays for us believers today.
"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe
in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in Me
and I am in You." John 17:20-21
Jesus is our faithful Intercessor!
Monday, June 4, 2012
Salvation Was Accomplished At The Cross!
The following information comes primarily from an article by Dr. James
White, titled 'Was Anyone Saved at the Cross?'
******************************
Why would Christ die for the whole world if God did not intend to save
everyone? Or did Christ's atoning death save everyone for whom it was
intended? Answers coming up.
"Did Christ actually make a substitutionary sacrifice for sins or didn't He?
If He did, then it was not for all the world, for then all the world would be saved."
Edwin H. Palmer 'The Five Points of Calvinism'
If Christ's death was a universal atonement, that He died substituionarily in the
place of every single man and woman in the world, then either:
1) everyone will be saved or
2) Christ's death is insufficient to save without
additional works.
Neither is biblical!
*********************************
Most of us who go to church have always been taught that Jesus died for "the whole
world," meaning every single person. In other words, Jesus' death was a universal
atonement, not a limited one.
However, those who believe Christ's atonement is for everyone, believe it is limited
in its effect, because if true, then Christ could die in someone's place and yet that per-
son may still be lost for eternity. The atonement's power and effect are limited under
this belief.
Under Reformed theology, the scope of the atonement is limited (or definite), while
its power and effect are unlimited. In other words, Jesus' atonement was effective for
whom it was intended --- His people!
***********************************
Only those who are "in Christ" have had their sins forgiven and atoned for, and are
reconciled with God the Father.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away;
behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us
(His people) to Himself and gave us (His people) the ministry of reconciliation; that
is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses
against them, and entrusting to us (His people) the message of reconciliation."
2 Corinthians 5:17-19
The word, "world" here, cannot mean everyone in the entire world, for only those
who are "in Christ" are reconciled to God, while all others are lost in their sins. Many
will die and spend eternity in Hell, never reconciled to God.
Christ atoned for His people.
"For our (His people) sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him
we (His people) might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21
"God treated Jesus as if he had committed believers' sins, and treats believers as if
they did only the righteous deeds of the sinless Son of God." John MacArthur
***********************************
In Reformed theology, the atonement's extent is limited (definite) because it does
not apply to everyone.
In Synergistic theology (man and God cooperate together to accomplish salvation;
Jesus' atonement is not enough by itself to save), the power of the atonement is limited
because it does not actually save anyone.
**************
Reformed theology limits the atonement quantitatively, but not qualitatively.
The atonement is meant for and effective for God's chosen people, and it is totally
effective everytime.
In Synergism, the atonement is limited qualitatively, but not quanitiatively.
The atonement is for everyone, but actually has no power in and of itself to save
anyone without the person's cooperation or permission.
***************
In Reformed theology, "the atonement is like a narrow bridge that goes all the way
across the stream."
In Synergism, "the atonement is like a wide bridge that goes only half-way across."
Lorraine Boettner 'The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination'
*****************************************************
Christ's death actually accomplishes something --- it saves His people. His atone-
ment was a real, actual, substitutionary one, not a possible, theoretical one that is de-
pendant on the actions of man to be effective.
Jesus died in behalf of those the Father had, from eternity, decreed to save. There is
absolute unity between the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit in saving God's people.
The Father chooses or decrees their salvation, the Son dies in their place, and the
Spirit sanctifies them and conforms them to the image of Christ.
***************************************************
"We say Christ so died that He infallibly secured the salvation of a multitude that
no man can number, who through Christ's death not only may be saved, but are saved,
must be saved, and cannot by any possibility run the hazard of being anything but saved."
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
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